


Pressing Secret

by Katsudonace



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Journalism, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Christmas, Christmas Fluff, Christmas Party, Fluff, Lance (Voltron) Has ADHD, M/M, Secret Santa
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-25
Updated: 2017-12-25
Packaged: 2019-02-20 08:51:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,022
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13143195
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Katsudonace/pseuds/Katsudonace
Summary: Lance is an investigative journalist, and Keith is his editor, who he's secretly in love with. During a holiday party, Lance decides to get Keith something special under the guise of a gift exchange, but Lance isn't the only one with deductive skills.





	Pressing Secret

**Author's Note:**

> This is for [Thatoneawkwardfangirlthing](http://thatoneawkwardfangirlthing.tumblr.com/) for the [Antis VLD Gift Exchange](https://antisvldexchange.tumblr.com/), who wanted "I just want something cute and fluffy, because everything I’ reading right now is sad." Betaed by the amazing [Angst-In-Space](http://angst-in-space.tumblr.com/).

The party was in full swing by the time Lance arrived at the office’s annual holiday party. It’d taken him a while to finish his last article. He loved investigating the pieces, but sitting down and writing was always the hardest part. There were always a million things distracting him and he’d always skate just in by the deadline. This time happened to be the day of the Christmas party, the day before the offices closed for the holidays and everyone flew off to their respective families.

He knew that his last-minute submission was going to piss off Keith, his editor, because it always did. It wasn’t as if Lance did it to purposely make Keith angry, but deadlines weren’t his strong suit and never had been, especially because of his ADHD. In fact, if he was honest with himself, he really liked Keith, not that he would ever tell him. Though, he didn’t _love_ him. At least, that’s what Lance told himself as his eyes scanned the room, taking in the festive decorations that Coran had placed around the office. He wasn’t looking for Keith. 

Coran always decorated the office oddly, especially since finding out that Hunk was Jewish. Along with the red and green garland strung along the cubicles, there were strands of blue with tiny stars of David hanging off them. There was a paper menorah tacked to the wall next to some paper Christmas trees and presents. Some dreidels hung alongside the other ornaments dangling from the ceiling. It reminded Lance of when he was in the fourth grade, and the teacher used to decorate the room for the holidays. Not that it was bad, just not what he’d imagine an adult party would look like.

Everyone milled about the room, rapt in their own private conversations as they enjoyed the festivities. Lance tapped his fingers against the present in his hand as he scanned the room for the secret gift pile, wanting to drop his present off so he could get to mingling. He could see Allura and Shay chatting by the refreshments table, giggling with each other. They were probably talking about taking down the government together, as they always did. He could see Pidge near Shiro’s office looking at the new tech Hunk was reviewing for his latest article. It was the one time of year that she left the cave that she called the IT department. Coran was with some of the interns, telling them about how hard it was to be a food critic. He even saw Slav, who usually worked from home on his science articles, hanging out with Shiro near the printers.

Lance continued to scan the office. No one seemed to notice that he had arrived. He frowned and pursed his lips, but he didn’t want to break up any of the conversations. The thought crossed his mind to just leave his present anywhere when a voice behind him startled him. “Late as usual,” Keith said from behind him. “If you were ever on time, I think it’d be some sort of Christmas miracle.”

Glancing over his shoulder, Lance saw Keith standing behind him with a bag of ice under his arm while the other hand rested on his hip. “You’re late, too,” Lance pointed out. He moved the present he was holding out of Keith’s sight, not wanting him to see the nametag. Out of all the years Lance worked at Voltron Press, he’d never gotten Keith for the holiday gift exchange until now, and it made him nervous because of how he felt about him.

“And I wonder whose fault that is.” As he spoke, Keith glanced down, noticing the way Lance was hiding the present in front of him. Keith tried to peek around him, but Lance turned his body more so that it was completely out of Keith’s view. “What? All of a sudden I can’t see your secret gift?” He continued to look around Lance, tilting his head to the side curiously. “Did you get another lame gift this year? Though, I don’t think it will top last year’s owl mittens.”

“They were handknit! Pidge should have been grateful! It’s not my fault her hands are a lot bigger than I thought they were!” Lance pouted, feeling the red beginning to burn at his cheeks, embarrassment beginning to sink in as he remembered the incident. “And these gifts are supposed to be private. That’s why it’s called ‘secret gift’, not ‘tell everyone and their mother gift’. People shouldn’t know who it’s from.”

Keith shrugged. “Not my fault you make it so obvious every year.” He hoisted the bag of ice over his shoulder. “Shiro moved the bag into his office this year since we put in a few more cubicles. Just put it in the bag with the others. I need to get this to Shiro, otherwise I’m going to get in trouble. Can’t wait to see your gift, Lance.”

“Yeah, can’t wait to see yours, Mullet, if you even have one.” Lance moved his arms, almost tempted to cross them over his chest, but he stopped himself last minute, remembering that he couldn’t do so without exposing his gift. Instead, he snorted and began to back away, making sure to keep his back to Keith.

This earned him an odd look from Keith, but he didn’t say anything, just stared as Lance made his way towards Shiro’s office. Lance’s back knocked into the door with a bang, drawing the attention of Hunk and Pidge, who were beside it. He gave them a wave, which had Hunk raising an eyebrow at him. Hunk opened his mouth, a clear question forming on his lips, one that Lance honestly didn’t have the answer to. Instead, he put up his index finger, signaling he’d only be a minute, and ducked into the office to drop off his gift.

When Lance ducked into the office, he was tempted to stay in there, not certain if he could face Keith again. He berated himself for acting so awkwardly around him. It was hard not to since he liked him so much. Lance had no idea how to act around Keith, how to let the other know how much he cared about him. Still, he stared down at the gift, a soft smile playing on his lips, at least he could give Keith something that he knew he’d like, even if Keith never knew it was from him.

Lance placed his gift with the others in the red velvet bag sitting on Shiro’s desk and left. He pushed the thought of Keith’s gift out of his mind and sought out Hunk and Pidge again. A few cups of Coran’s famous holiday punch later, Lance had completely forgotten about his gift to Keith. Instead, he sat on his desk, listening avidly to Allura as she regaled her latest fight against social injustice. She was just getting to the part where she chained herself to the bulldozer when Coran rang the bell to signal the start of the gift exchange.

As the bell rang and everyone gathered around, Lance’s stomach did a small flip. He sat on his hands to stop himself from biting his nails as Coran removed the first present from the bag. It wasn’t Lance’s, and was instead for Shiro, which turned out to be decorative magnets for his prosthetic. It earned a few laughs, and then they moved on to the next present and then the next. With each present that wasn’t his, Lance’s nervous energy increased. He began to rock back and forth as his anxiety worsened.

Just when Lance thought he was going to burst, Coran pulled out the next present, which Lance recognized instantly from the cheery blue wrapping paper. “Keith,” Coran read, walking over to hand the box over to Keith. It was a bit larger than Lance had realized as it sat in Keith’s hand, and he didn’t miss the way Keith frowned as he turned the box over. “Come on, Keith,” Coran cheered him on. “Tear at that paper. Let’s see what you got.”

Keith almost did what Coran instructed. Instead, he carefully undid the wrapping, making sure not to rip the paper. He set it aside on the desk behind him and looked over the plain, white box. Gingerly, Keith removed the lid and peered inside. As soon as his eyes laid on the contents of the box, his jaw went slack, along with his fingers, which caused the box to tumble to the floor and spill its contents. On the floor now lay a medium-sized, blue hippo with pristine fluffy fur and shiny, black round eyes. Its mouth was open, frozen in an eternal smile.

“A plushie?” Pidge asked, upturning her nose at the gift. “That’s such a lame gift and so under-budget.” She moved forward and looked down at the hippo, adjusting her glasses. “This has to be a Lance gift.” Lance bristled and bit at his tongue to stop the protest that threatened to flee from his mouth, not wanting to give himself away. “Definitely a Lance gift.”

The blood in Lance’s veins boiled, and he bit his tongue harder, still refusing to give away that it was him. Pidge kicked out her leg, about to toe at it with her shoe, but Keith dove for it, scooping it up into his arms. “Is that true?” Keith asked, his eyebrows knitting together as he stared from Pidge to the hippo then finally to Lance. “Was that why you were hiding the gift from me?”

“What? No!” Lance protested, but Keith’s eyes narrowed venomously. Recoiling, Lance amended his statement, hand going to the back of his neck nervously. “Okay, yeah, it was me. I got you a toy, because you’re a big baby.” Lance forced a laugh, which only made Keith glare at him harder. “Get it? It’s a joke. You know?”

“Outside,” Keith snapped. Lance opened his mouth to protest again, but Keith cut him off. “ _Outside_. Now!” He began walking towards the door that led out into the hallway. The room was silent as Keith shouldered past everyone, some staring at each other while others had their gazes directed squarely on Lance.

“Someone’s in trouble,” Lance heard Hunk mutter. Lance looked at Shiro for guidance, but he was no help. As soon as Lance caught his gaze, Shiro shrugged helplessly, not offering any commentary on why Keith might have snapped the way he did. That left Lance with only one option, and that was to follow. He eased himself off his desk and began to leave, trying to ignore everyone watching him .

When Lance finally made his way out to the hallway, he found Keith pacing up and down while clutching the stuffed hippo to his chest. Lance closed the door behind him. As soon as it clicked in place, Keith’s head shot up, twisting to stare at Lance with an almost panicked expression. He crossed the hallway in two large steps, getting so close that their chests were nearly touching, and Lance could almost feel Keith’s breath on his face.

“Why did you get this for me?” Keith demanded, though there was a slight hint of confusion underneath it. There was something in Keith’s eyes that Lance couldn’t read. They were soft, softer than Lance had ever seen them in all the years that they had worked together. It made Lance’s throat tighten for reasons he couldn’t explain. “I need to know.”

“I can’t believe you’re making such a big deal out of a dumb toy,” Lance said, trying to shrug off Keith’s question. He crossed his arms over his chest as he tried to figure out what Keith was getting at. “I told you why I got it for you. It’s because you’re a big baby who deserves stuffed animals and diapers. I saw the stupid thing and just decided to buy it. Sorry that it’s so lame. I got it off a bidding site, so I can’t return it, but-”

“Do you think I’m stupid?” Keith interrupted. He scowled at Lance, but it was hard to take him seriously as he clung so tightly to the hippo that he would have smothered it if it was alive. “You really didn’t think I wouldn’t recognize a limited-edition Hippy the Hippo stuffed toy? It sold out when it was first released. I-” He looked away. “I wanted it for Christmas when I was a kid. So, don’t pretend like I don’t know exactly how much you spent on a ‘dumb’ toy.”

Lance frowned, rubbing at the back of his neck. He couldn’t read the expression on Keith’s face too clearly, but the scowl was gone at least. “It wasn’t that I thought you were stupid,” he replied, feeling his face grow hot. “That’s the whole reason why I got it for you, because I knew you really wanted it. It really didn’t matter the price.” He shrugged. “And I thought that even if you figured out it was me, you might take it because you thought I was stupid for not knowing how much it was worth.”

Red spread across Keith’s face, and Lance’s jaw nearly dropped in shock as Keith buried his face in the fur of the hippo. Seeing Keith look so soft had the blush rising all the way to Lance’s ears. “I don’t think you’re stupid, either,” Keith muttered, though it was muffled because of the fur. “But you really shouldn’t drop this kind of money on your editor. You’re lucky no one but me noticed how much you spent. Otherwise, people might get the wrong idea.”

“What-” Lance gulped, not knowing why this was so hard. “What if I want people to get the wrong idea about us?” Keith’s face tilted towards Lance, eyes wide. “I mean, not like, that we’re sleeping together, but like, we’re dating.” He laughed loudly, and the hand that wasn’t rubbing feverishly at the back of his neck began waving through the air. “But, that’d be silly, because us dating? Yeah, no way.” He cleared his throat. “Anyway, like I was saying, if it’s too much, I can take it back, put it up for bidding again or whatever.”

Keith was silent for a few seconds as his brow furrowed like he was figuring out a complex math problem. “I wouldn’t mind,” Keith said, standing a bit straighter as he glanced off to the side. “I mean, I wouldn’t mind dating. You’re- What you did was sweet. And-” He squeezed the plushie against his chest, and Lance wasn’t sure if it or Keith looked more like they were going to pop. “And, well, I’ve always sort of had a thing for you, ever since Shiro made me start editing your work.”

Lance’s jaw dropped. “You _what_?” Because there was no way Lance had heard him right. There was no way that Keith had been pining after him all this time. “I just- You what?” Lance ran a hand through his hair, as Keith tilted his head to the side in confusion. “There’s no way that you- Why would you-? No, what? No.”

“Yeah, I do,” Keith said with a small chuckle, a slight smile curling at the corner of his lips. He moved closer until their chests were touching, and Lance couldn’t believe he was this close to Keith after all these years. “I like that you’re intelligent, even if you still have no idea how to use a comma. I like how creative you are. I like how kind you are and how you pay such close attention to details. You annoy me so much, especially when you submit your articles late, but at the same time, I don’t think I’d ever want you to go away. I guess I just like you.”

Keith ended his speech with a small, embarrassed shrug. A sudden list of impulses ran through Lance’s head. The first one was to get down on one knee and propose, but that was too impulsive, even for him. The next one was to run out into the parking lot and scream out loudly to the sky that Keith liked him. Then there was the one that wanted to run back into the party to tell everyone Keith liked him. He didn’t give into any of those impulses, though. Instead, he wrapped his arms around Keith, melting into him, and it was hard for him not to grin at the tiny gasp that escaped Keith.

Lance pressed his forehead against Keith’s, wondering why they hadn’t done this sooner. He let them stay that way for a moment before he pulled back. Licking his lips, he realized just how close he was to Keith. It was then that Lance remembered the one thing that he’d always wanted to do with Keith. Leaning in, Lance waggled his eyebrows at Keith seductively. “Hey, we’re under mistletoe.”

Before Lance could kiss him, though, Keith pulled back, a smirk on his face. Lance raised an eyebrow, wondering what kind of game Keith could be playing. “But Coran never puts up mistletoe,” he said with a playful tone. Keith glanced up, nodding his head as he confirmed his suspicions. “Yeah, no mistletoe. Guess that means you don’t get your kiss.”

“Don’t be an asshole,” Lance said as he reached up and cupped the back of Keith’s neck. “Just go with it.” He leaned in again, and this time, Keith didn’t pull back. Their lips pressed together, a soft press of flesh that made Lance’s heart almost stop. His breath caught in his throat as Keith deepened the kiss, a hand moving up to twist into the fabric of Lance’s shirt while the other continued to clutch at the stuffed hippo between them. As Lance stood there, allowing Keith to kiss the life out of him, he couldn’t stop himself from thinking how the hippo that he got Keith was worth every penny. In fact, he would have paid even more, if he knew it would lead to this moment, the moment that Keith and him would start their life together.

**Author's Note:**

> You can find me on my writing journal at [KatsudonAce](https://katsudonace.tumblr.com/) or on my main at [Keithphantom](http://keithphantom.tumblr.com/).


End file.
